Richardson ISD reports smooth start, staffing gains and new safety systems in start-of-school update

Superintendent Tabitha Bridal told the Richardson ISD Board of Trustees at its Aug. 21 work session that the district opened the 2025–26 school year smoothly, with teams focused on supporting teachers and getting students into classrooms on day one.

Bridal said central teams and principals worked through the summer to minimize start‑of‑school disruptions and implement new state requirements. Enrollment stood at 36,278 students as of the morning of the presentation; Bridal said that number was 11 higher than at the same point last year.

The board heard data from Human Resources: Dr. Goodson reported the district hired about 325 classroom teachers and roughly 116 paraprofessionals this summer, along with other classified and administrative hires — a total the presentation listed as 562 new staff across categories. The district's measured teacher turnover declined from 13.07 percent to 11.54 percent compared with two years earlier.

District leaders described several safety and operational changes introduced this summer. Technology and safety staff are configuring phone and E911 systems so phones map to classroom locations, and Transportation has begun a districtwide bus badge system that will let riders scan on and off buses. The badge system is not a state mandate, the district said; it is a locally adopted safety measure intended to verify ridership and help locate students quickly when there are questions about a student's route.

Board members and staff said the bus‑badge rollout was piloted at a campus last year and expanded districtwide this month. Officials said drivers and dispatch are being trained to handle one‑off situations (for example, siblings who ride different buses or a student who forgets a badge) and that the district will not leave a child unattended while resolving routing issues. Leaders told the board they would send another round of family communications in the coming weeks to explain the system and accommodate new enrollments.

Student services and health leaders told the board they are implementing recent legislation. The presentation referenced Senate Bill 12 (parental rights), House Bill 6 (discipline, Chapter 37 code of conduct) and Senate Bill 1481 (cell phones); staff described an opt‑in/opt‑out process for health, counseling and activity permissions that will be delivered through the district’s online family portal and translated into top district languages. The district said printed packets will be available on request and that nurses will contact parents where necessary to clarify choices for students with IEPs or 504 plans.

Other highlights the cabinet shared: - A well‑attended job fair and hiring campaign the district said produced the summer hiring numbers reported by HR; staff noted 35 employees returned to the district this year and about 25 district graduates were hired as classroom teachers. - Explorer and child learning academy enrollment and programming: roughly 2,500 children in Explorer extended‑day programming and about 230 children in child learning academies, including a recently opened site at Spring Ridge. - Technology upgrades and training, including replacement of some classroom projectors with interactive flat panels and replacement of end‑of‑life Chromebooks. - Continued district safety work, including required intruder detection and campus safety audits and a district vulnerability assessment in progress.

Public comment at the start of the meeting praised the bond work and summer projects that helped the opening, noting that renovations are “transformative improvements to our aging learning environment” (comment by Ewan Blackman). Board members repeatedly thanked staff for behind‑the‑scenes work they said made the opening successful.

The board did not take votes on these informational items during the session.

Sources: presentation to the Richardson ISD Board of Trustees, Aug. 21, 2025; district staff remarks.